🟪 City of Austin says new $1.48 million website will make services easier to use (KUT)

🟪 Austin ISD to recognize March 31 as Dolores Huerta Day following César Chávez allegations (CBS Austin)

🟪 After five waterline breaks, Pflugerville asks residents to put off doing laundry, dishes (KUT)

🟪 Liberty Hill posts RFQ seeking help to revitalize its downtown(Austin Business Journal)

🟪 Mayor’s new economic plan fueled by Abbott warning (San Antonio Business Journal)

🟪 Federal Reserve maintains rates and watches risks from Iran war (New York Times)

🟪 Japan’s Takaichi tries to reaffirm alliance with Trump as he seeks help securing Strait of Hormuz (Associated Press)

READ ON!

📍 Yesterday, Bingham Group attended the 2026 Asia x Austin Summit — an official SXSW event hosted at the Long Center by the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (pictured with Cedar Park Chief Economic Development Officer Author Jackson and Williamson County Judge Steven Snell).

✅ The Summit brought together international delegates, civic leaders, and investors to explore the growing opportunity between Asia and Central Texas. Sessions focused on the Texas Triangle's emergence as a global destination for investment and industry — and the international interest in our region is one worth watching closely.

✅ Yesterday Bingham Group attended the 2026 Asia x Austin Summit — an official SXSW event hosted at the Long Center by the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (picutured with Cedar Park Chief Economic Development Officer Author Jackson and Williamson County Judge Steven Snell).

🎙️ Hugh Forrest, former President and Chief Programming Officer of SXSW, joined our friends on the Austin Era's podcast to discuss the festival's impact on Austin's growth and his role in shaping it.

✅ City of Austin says new $1.48 million website will make services easier to use (KUT)

The city of Austin launched a new website that city leaders hope will make it easier for people to use. The updated site went live Thursday morning.

City officials said users will be able to more easily access information, including links to pay utility bills and citations, adopt a pet and submit 3-1-1 requests.

In total, the city has budgeted $2.52 million to the website overhaul, with $1.48 million for the initial redesign and another $1.04 million for refining updates or addressing issues that arise over the next two years.

Yasmin Wagner with the city’s communication and engagement department said the city has known for a while that an update was needed, but it took time to get the funding and resources in place.

“The look and feel and functionality have become outdated, inconsistencies appear throughout the site, and it's weakening our brand recognition, usability of the site and user’s trust in the site as well,” Wagner said.

The website's architects removed about 16,000 pages, taking the total number down to 1,300… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin ISD to recognize March 31 as Dolores Huerta Day following César Chávez allegations (CBS Austin)

Austin ISD announced Thursday that it has canceled its participation in the annual César Chávez parade following recent allegations of abuse against Chávez.

In a letter to families, Superintendent Matias Segura said the decision reflects the seriousness of the reports and provides space for reflection on how the district teaches history, in line with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards.

The district said it will officially recognize March 31 as Dolores Huerta Day, with all schools and offices closed. Huerta, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, is a longtime labor and civil rights leader.

“At the heart of this day remains our dedication to the values of justice, equality, and empowerment for all working communities,” the district said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin southern restaurant Hoover's Cooking closing after nearly 30 years (KVUE)

After three decades of serving up soul food and Southern hospitality in East Austin, Hoover’s Cooking is closing its doors for good at the end of the month.

On Thursday, owner Hoover Alexander announced his decision to shut down the restaurant at 2002 Manor Road on Monday, May 31, coinciding with his retirement. 

“After praying and pondering, meditating, I really felt like this is really the time,” the chef and restaurateur said. “We're not getting the sales that we used to; we don't have the staffing that we used to.” 

A native East Austinite and fifth‑generation Texan, Alexander opened the beloved eatery on Manor Road in 1998. Alexander said he built the restaurant as a place to bridge divides in East Austin — both racial and economic.

“This was a dividing line between Black and white,” he said. "I felt like I was divinely intended and meant to be here.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ After five waterline breaks, Pflugerville asks residents to put off doing laundry, dishes (KUT)

Water is flowing again into Lake Pflugerville after a fifth waterline break was fixed late Wednesday, the city announced. But Pflugerville's water system remains depleted after a series of leaks in recent months, and water customers remain subject to serious restrictions.

Lake Pflugerville is the primary water source for the city. It’s human-made and fed entirely by water pumped from the Colorado River.

Construction crews discovered the fifth break on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the city of Pflugerville said Wednesday officials could not take interviews as the city was “completely focused on handling the current water situation.” Officials said the break was “easily accessible” and “quickly located.”

The break was the latest in a string of leaks that have depleted the city’s water supply by hundreds of millions of gallons since September… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Liberty Hill posts RFQ seeking help to revitalize its downtown(Austin Business Journal)

A fast-growing suburb northwest of Austin is seeking bids from companies to help revitalize its downtown.

That's according to a request for qualifications posted by the city of Liberty Hill on March 12, which seeks professional services from an individual or corporation to help within its downtown district.

Representatives for the city – which is about 35 miles northwest of Austin and has a population of around 12,000 people – said they could not comment on the RFQ while it's open. They plan to address questions about specific plans when a selected consultant's contract is considered at a City Council meeting in June.

But the RFQ states that professional services include land planning for effective use in downtown; infrastructure development to manage construction timelines and resource allocation; economic development incentives aimed at attracting businesses; construction management to oversee building projects; and negotiating public-private partnerships to foster collaboration between the city and private entities… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Mayor’s new economic plan fueled by Abbott warning (San Antonio Business Journal)

San Antonio could see a significant shift in how City Hall prioritizes and pursues economic development and corporate recruitment opportunities.

That potential pivot comes as competing cities have become more aggressive in their chase to land more companies, jobs and investment.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has outlined a new plan inspired in part by a conversation with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, she believes will better position the Alamo City to address that heightened competition. Jones has enlisted a group of key stakeholders to help advance that new strategy.

“During one of my earlier conversations with Governor Abbott, he said San Antonio really needs to up its economic development game,” Jones told me. “Frankly, I have carried that with me in these eight, nine months. I have found that I am in agreement with him.”

The centerpiece of Jones’ new plan is the formation of the Economic Security Advisory Group (ESAG), which will be led, in part, by Port San Antonio President and CEO Jim Perschbach. The new group will especially focus on opportunities tied to artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology and space manufacturing.

The ESAG will advise the mayor on opportunities to strengthen San Antonio’s recruitment and retention efforts in those key areas.

Greater:SATX will continue to play a critical role in regional recruitment and retention efforts… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ FEMA awards $65 million to Houston for public safety ahead of FIFA World Cup (Houston Public Media)

Three weeks after the city's host committee for the FIFA World Cup signed onto a letter expressing concern about possible delays in funding, Houston was awarded $65 million in federal dollars this week to cover public safety initiatives tied to the massive sporting event.

Mayor John Whitmire's office confirmed the award to Houston Public Media on Wednesday, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced $625 million in public safety grants for the 11 host cities across the U.S. A spokesperson for Whitmire said the approximately $65 million for Houston will be used for overtime, personnel, technology and equipment for the police and fire departments, as well as "regional law enforcement agencies working for the FIFA World Cup."

In late February, Politico reported host cities penned a letter to the White House's FIFA task force emphasizing "the importance of finalizing and resolving any administrative concerns regarding the distribution of FIFA World Cup security grants" amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. A spokesperson for Houston's host committee confirmed local officials signed onto the letter but otherwise did not immediately comment on the situation. A spokesperson for the White House FIFA task force said, in a statement to Houston Public Media, "Host cities have received guidance and are receiving support from FEMA throughout the reimbursement process." In a press release, FEMA senior official Karen Evans said, "The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to be the largest sporting event in history, so it must also be the most secure."

According to Governor Greg Abbott's office — which will oversee the grant program — the state is slated to receive $116 million from FEMA, on top of a previously awarded $30 million to address threats posed by drones. The first match in Houston between Germany and Curaçao kicks off on June 14. On the same day, the Netherlands and Japan will face off in Dallas. The Houston Police Department expects about half a million people from the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Curaçao, Uzbekistan, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia and other countries to flood the city in June and July… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Dallas Mavericks CEO seeking 50 acres downtown for arena, but ‘time is not on our side’ (Dallas Morning News)

Mavericks CEO Rick Welts says the team still wants a downtown arena, but with no land, no talks with City Hall and no design, the project remains in its earliest stages. The updates came during an interview with former Mayor Tom Leppert and Kyle Waldrep on the Intersections podcast released online this week. Among the highlights: Welts said the team needs roughly 50 acres, and “right now there aren’t 50 acres available downtown,” a limitation that effectively narrows the field for any urban site.

While he reiterated that downtown would be ideal, he emphasized it “is not the only place in Dallas we can build,” keeping options outside the core in play. The team previously has identified the former Valley View Mall site as a possibility. The Mavs lease on their current home, American Airlines Center, runs through 2031. For all the attention on a potential City Hall redevelopment, Welts said the Mavericks have not even begun substantive talks with the city.

“We haven’t even been able to talk to the city about what that deal would look like,” he said, adding that the arena itself has not yet been designed, another sign the effort is still conceptual. Welts described a broader mixed-use vision for any 50-acre site, anchored by a new arena, team headquarters and a practice facility.

Beyond that, he pointed to other elements tied to the development, including a training complex that “probably would include a medical facility run by a medical company you’re very familiar with.” He also cited interest from Live Nation in building a 4,000- to 5,000-seat venue and in having a four-star hotel connected to the arena so performers and players could move between the two without leaving the building.

Welts said dense, urban locations deliver the greatest payoff, saying such projects “are incredibly successful in a dense environment” and can serve as a catalyst for surrounding development. But he also signaled urgency, noting “time is not on our side.” He said that while a downtown site like City Hall is “a very viable option,” the team has no control over it and cannot negotiate unless it becomes available… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Texas accepts some Islamic schools into voucher program after lawsuits (Texas Tribune)

The Texas comptroller has accepted several Islamic private schools into the state’s voucher program after the institutions sued to gain admittance.

Four Muslim parents and three Islamic private school providers that operate four campuses had sued Texas leaders for excluding the schools while accepting hundreds of other non-Islamic schools.

The two federal lawsuits asked the court to block the private school voucher program from discriminating on the basis of religion. As part of the dispute, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett has extended the voucher application deadline to March 31 and ordered the state to consider the schools’ request to join the voucher program. The next hearing is set for April 24… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Federal Reserve maintains rates and watches risks from Iran war (New York Times)

The Federal Reserve held rates steady for a second straight meeting, but Jerome H. Powell, the central bank’s chair, leaned into the uncertainty of the moment with the Iran war dragging on, energy prices surging and the labor market sending mixed signals. He repeatedly said it was too early to tell how the conflict would affect inflation and unemployment, although he acknowledged that the U.S. economy was still on relatively solid footing.

According to projections released alongside the rate decision on Wednesday, most officials still expect at least one quarter-point cut this year even though they forecast a bumpier path to 2 percent inflation. Mr. Powell, downplaying how informative these forecasts are at the moment, noted that several policymakers said that if there were ever a meeting to skip releasing economic projections, “this would be a good one, because we just don’t know.”

The high degree of uncertainty from the war only adds to the complicated situation the Fed finds itself in as it contends with its goals of low, stable inflation and a healthy labor market now in tension with one another. “We are balancing these two goals in a situation where the risks to the labor market are to the downside, which would call for lower rates, and the risks to inflation are to the upside, which would call for higher rates, or not cutting anyway,” he said. Mr. Powell acknowledged that no policy action was off the table, and suggested there was still a path to cut so long as some progress was made on reducing inflation.

“If we don’t see that progress, then you won’t see the rate cut,” he said. Mr. Powell, whose term as chair ends on May 15, provided some details about his future at the Fed. If no chair is confirmed before then, he said he would stay in the top job on a temporary basis. Though he can technically stay on as a governor until 2028, Mr. Powell said he would not leave the central bank so long as the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into renovations of the Fed’s headquarters continued. Mr. Powell declined to stay whether he would stay if the investigation was dropped… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Resignation of top intelligence official exposes bitter MAGA-influencer divide (Wall Street Journal)

When Joe Kent resigned his post this week as the White House’s chief counterterrorism officer over his opposition to President Trump’s Iran war he appeared to be out of touch with MAGA world. But Kent’s antipathy for Trump’s Iran strikes—for which he blamed Israel and its lobbyists—has chimed with one vital constituency: an isolationist faction of leading influencers and stars of the conservative podcast arena where so much MAGA discourse transpires.

Chief among them is Tucker Carlson, who hailed Kent on a live podcast on Wednesday evening, saying he hoped his resignation would be the “beginning of the long overdue truth telling.” Carlson also echoed Kent’s assertion that Israel was driving U.S. foreign policy. The White House has maintained that the war has widespread backing.

For a president who has enjoyed the adulation of conservative podcasters and celebrated their electoral influence, the criticism might prove uncomfortable. Nor is Carlson the only one now clashing with the administration over the war and the U.S.’s once-sacrosanct relationship with Israel. Megyn Kelly, the onetime Fox News personality who now has her own online platform, has also questioned whether the war is “good for America”—as has Candace Owens, another popular influencer who supported Trump in 2024 and has become a vociferous critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I don’t know how he cannot see how his base, his actual base, is reacting right now,” Owens said of the president during an interview on Wednesday. Kelly and Owens are among the many dissenting podcasters who invoke the late Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was close to Trump and credited with bringing a younger generation into the MAGA fold. Kirk argued against going to war with Iran before he was assassinated last September. Their criticism has prompted aggressive pushback by a band of pro-Israel MAGA rivals… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Japan’s Takaichi tries to reaffirm alliance with Trump as he seeks help securing Strait of Hormuz (Associated Press)

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump on Thursday after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.

Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran’s development of its nuclear program and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker, despite his launching a war of choice with Iran. She told the U.S. president through an interpreter that in the Middle East and around the world now, there was “a very severe security environment,” but said, “Even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world.”

The two leaders had warm words for each other, including Trump calling the prime minister a “popular, powerful woman,” but there appeared to be some tension as they faced repeated questions from reporters about Japan’s support for the Iran war… 🟪 (READ MORE)